Talk:forte

2004

I see what you mean Ortonmc. It's not ideal. Maybe we can simply leave off the mention that the first part is about the English word, since that's the default. Polyglot 21:24, 15 Jan 2004 (UTC)

It works here, more or less. The difficulty I foresee is if a non-English word has multiple etymologies/pronunciations, and also exists as a word in another language. For example, the German Band I recently added has four different nouns, based on the different gender/plural. I don't know anything about German etymology, but it wouldn't surprise me if these came from different roots. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. -- Ortonmc 04:17, 17 Jan 2004 (UTC)

With the previous version of the software there wasn't an automatically created little table of contents before the articles and we didn't really mind those levels. Almost everything went into level 3, except for the word's language.

Crossing that bridge is probably going to mean shifting everything one level down. Polyglot 09:08, 17 Jan 2004 (UTC)

I would dispute the "preferred pronouncation"

In purist circles, the monosyllabic pronounciation of "forte" in the context of ability is always preferred, because of the specific etymology of the word. I would dispute the section of this article that claims that the disyllabic pronounciation is preferred, unless specific and reliable sources can be cited for this assumption. [[[User:192.158.61.143|192.158.61.143]] 16:28, 24 October 2007 (UTC)]

its so stupid....and dumb. when they teach it to you don't listen its just crap well thats what my teacher said Miss Roskelly...--66.17.87.131 19:17, 19 February 2008 (UTC)yyyyyytrutyuyurtyu

I agree heartily with the preference of "forte" as the pronunciation of the word fort (a noun derived from the French language) meaning a particular strength. One would not go into a bakery and ask for a chocolate tor-tay. The pronunciation "for tay" is strictly for the adverb (from the Italian) in musical direction, as for piano, where forte, fortissimo, etc. are frequently used to direct one to play forcefully.

I am a little worried that as mispronunciations are repeated, such mispronunciations become newly acceptable standards. In this age of celebrity, are we to allow our language to be guided by the mispronunciations of sometimes barely educated sportscasters? I suppose the next surprise will be to learn that reprise rhymes with surprise because I heard some twenty-something spokesmodel pronounce it that way on the TV guide channel.

I can appreciate that the English language is dynamic and can change but let us not be led astray by Philistines. — This comment was unsigned.

I also dispute the section stating "both pronunciations are now considered standard." This is demonstrably false as they are two DIFFERENT words. One Forte, (pronounced Fort) is a French word, meaning strong point, and the other, Forte (pronounced For-tay) is an Italian word, meaning a loud passage in a musical score. Let's not dumb down our standards any more than they already are. Two different words, two different meanings, two different pronunciations. 67.165.109.152 18:15, 5 March 2014 (UTC)

Agreed

"Two different words, two different meanings, two different pronunciations." Many thanks to the commenters above. It's heartening to realize one is only mostly, but not completely, surrounded by idiots. Keep fighting the good fight against societal stupidity.

Pronunciation and spelling

For more on the disyllabic / two-syllable pronunciation and the spelling with an accent, see also the RFV discussions at Talk:forté. - -sche (discuss) 21:42, 2 July 2018 (UTC)